McIlroy: I’m no racing certainty
The 25-year-old Irishman regained the world number one ranking on Sunday in Akron, after coming from behind to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. It was his first start since claiming the Claret Jug two Sundays previously in The Open Championship at Hoylake to complete three legs of a career Majors grand slam.
This week, the imperiously in-form McIlroy is poised for a hat-trick of consecutive wins, Tiger Woods the only golfer to have won The Open, WGC-Bridgestone and PGA Championships in successive appearances, which he managed in 2000 and 2006.
Woods last night remained a back injury doubt for the tournament, having cancelled his press conference yesterday but there has been an air of the 14-time Major winner’s dominance around McIlroy of late.
Appropriately enough for a golfer with an eye for a rare Triple Crown, 2012 PGA champion McIlroy was last night at Churchill Downs racecourse, home to the Kentucky Derby, for the annual PGA champions’ dinner, this year hosted by Jason Dufner.
Yet, with so many media observers, fellow professionals and bookmakers believing it will be the Holywood star presiding over next year’s champions’ dinner at Whistling Straits and possibly for several such events over the next couple of decades, McIlroy was yesterday keen to play down widespread talk of an “Era of Rory”.
“Of course I’ve heard it and I’ve read it,” McIlroy said. “Sometimes I feel people are too quick to jump to conclusions and jump on the bandwagon and jump on certain things.
“I’ve had a great run of golf and I’ve played well over the past few months. I said at the start of the year that golf was looking for someone to put their hand up and sort of become one of the dominant players in the game. I felt like I had the ability to do that, and it’s just nice to be able to win a few tournaments and get back to where I feel like I should be, which is near the top of the world rankings and competing in Majors and winning tournaments.
“So I’m not necessarily sure you can call that an era or the start of an era, but I’m just really happy with where my golf game is at the minute and I just want to try and continue that for as long as possible.
“And people can say what they want to say, but I can’t read too much into it. I just need to continue to practise hard and play well, and that’s all I can do and try not to read too much of the stuff that’s being written, because if you read everything that was being written, I’d turn up at the first tee on Thursday thinking I’d already won the tournament.”
That may be so, but it is becoming impossible to ignore McIlroy’s magnificent form, his driving prowess, improved putting and new-found ability to win tournaments in variety of ways other than purely from the front.
McIlroy has spoken about an almost zen-like inner peace when he is out on a golf course of late and asked yesterday what in his game made him feel most confident, he replied: “I think more just my approach to the game, my mental state. I think that’s really what I’m happy about is, you know, I kept saying it last week, but not dwelling on the results that I’ve had and just trying to keep moving forward, and focus on the next week ... that’s really what I’m happy about.
“I mean, people can talk about my driving or how I’m swinging the club, but mentally, I just feel like I’m in a really good place, and I think that’s what I’m really happy about.”
All that and a golf course here in Kentucky that looks tailor-made to bring out the best in McIlroy’s strengths and talents, it is no wonder he is full of confidence in a tournament he yesterday called probably “my best Major”.
“The win at Kiawah in 2012, but then a couple of third place finishes and a couple other top 10s.... it’s been a tournament I’ve really enjoyed and a tournament I’ve had some success at. So hopefully I can continue that trend this week.”
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